Sperno

This in a normal arming sword with a wide blade and sharp point, it stays in good condition. It has a scaly red leather grip. It has red inlaid metal pentagrams, facing opposite directions on both the blade and pommel. These make it a sword most won't want to display unless they're using it.
It often makes for wreckless and fierce warriors who die young if they have little self control.

This sword has the SA's Passion: Killing human men, 4
Flaw: Bloodlust (major)
These only take effect when the sword is drawn and held in the bare hand.
They come from a demon imprisoned withing the sword, held by the pentagrams.
Every time the sword is used, roll WP TN 8. If failed, a roughly opposite SA will be reduced by one. Once it reaches 0, it'll be replaced by the swords SA. The rolls will continue intil it's built up to the swords level.
Also, roll WP TN 1, +1 per use. If it's failed at all, you gain the minor bloodlust flaw. Then it starts over, when it's failed a second time, you gain the major version.

Question: you can use the sword's Passion when drawn? In addition to your other SAs? Then when it "replaces" the character's does it still retain it's own? That is, will the player have 8 extra dice when trying to kill someone at that point?

I really like that the player can decide to put it down at any point - it becomes a matter of risking what they stand for.

OTOH, can a player spend down these SAs after they get them, or are these permenant? While the sword is still owned, or just forever?

Mike

"Question: you can use the sword's Passion when drawn? In addition to your other SAs? Then when it "replaces" the character's does it still retain it's own? That is, will the player have 8 extra dice when trying to kill someone at that point?"

Yes, and yes but I probably wouldn't make it cumulative.

"I really like that the player can decide to put it down at any point - it becomes a matter of risking what they stand for."

Yeah, it's a corrupting temptation.

"OTOH, can a player spend down these SAs after they get them, or are these permenant? While the sword is still owned, or just forever?"

Yes, the character can keep trying to spend them down if he wishes. I think that's very representative of fighting the will of the sword. The sword will only influence the character directly while it's handled. It could corrupt someone forever even if they get rid of it by chnging his SA's, but you could work to change if you get rid of the sword and change your SA's back or something. Thanks

BTW the swords name, Sperno, is latin for Despiser or something like that, due to the demons undying hatred for humanity.

For some reason I am thinking of the Blue Oyster Cult song "Black Blade" as I read this :)

I might be getting too into semantics, but you might want to change the passion to "spreading death and suffering" or something. As it stands not that SA wouldn't fire when fighting an Elf, or a human woman :)

Kind of interesting mechanic. Reminds be a bit of the axe of Druss the Legend from David Gemmel's series. It reminds me of Druss' axe before the demon was driven out, that is.

Tash wrote: For some reason I am thinking of the Blue Oyster Cult song "Black Blade" as I read this :)

"As it stands not that SA wouldn't fire when fighting an Elf, or a human woman :)"

Actually, I really literally intended it to only fire when being used on human men. But, the whole reason I posted it is so anyone can use it as they see fit.

Hmmm, I'll see if I can clarify the SA mechanic some more. As long as the sword continues to be used, it will continue to influence the character naturally. I'd say if it wore down one SA, but the character keeps buying down the SA the sword caused, that process would just continue in that struggle, not start on another. But of course that's up to seneschal discretion too, whatever you think would work best in the given situation. Perhaps if in the possession of a weak willed character it would destroy all his good SA's, if he kept buying off the swords, it could leave him useless or a sociopath, if not evil.